c'mon girl, spill your guts
by Tarafina
Summary: "So how long have you been sleeping with my brother?" Olicity with a side of snarky Thea


**Title**: c'mon girl, spill your guts (who's the guy and what's it all mean?)  
**Category**: Arrow  
**Genre**: Humor/Romance  
**Ship**: Oliver/Felicity, Thea  
**Rating**: Teen  
**Prompt**: Thea investigates Oliver's "friend" from the hospital – Summer of Olicity (Family)  
**Word Count**: 4,638  
**Summary**: "So how long have you been sleeping with my brother?"

**_c'mon girl, spill your guts (who's the guy and what's it all mean?)_**

"So this is where Oliver goes looking for friendship these days…" a voice drawled from the doorway. "Not his usual wading pool, but 'usual' isn't really his style lately."

Felicity flinched, drawn out of her ones and zeroes coma to focus on the willowy brunette standing in the doorway, her hip cocked and her eyebrow raised, confidence wafting off her in waves.

Hands on the armrests of her chair, Felicity pushed herself up to standing, unable to keep her mouth from gaping. She hadn't been expecting anyone, but this rather familiar face was more unexpected than the rest.

Felicity gave her head a shake and winced. "Uh, Thea, right? Or… Miss. Queen?" she wondered, feeling the familiar urge to fidget the way her mother had constantly tried to nag out of her all throughout high school.

"Thea," she agreed, giving a nod as she stepped further into Felicity's office and gave it a good look-over.

Her casual perusal might have been dismissed by anybody else, but Felicity had spent most of her time around Oliver, who never missed a detail, and she'd seen him do the same glance around his sister had just done, if with a more specific target.

"_So…_" She came to a stop just short of Felicity's desk and picked up the stress ball she kept, giving it a couple squeezes before dropping it back in place. "It's Felicity, right? You're friends with my brother, Oliver."

"Uh… yes." She nodded, absentmindedly readjusting a few things on her desk, from the cup of pens to the stack of sticky notes she mostly kept around for the bright, neon color they supplied. "We met at the hospital, after Walter was rescued, I think, right? Briefly..."

"Yeah, you were the one with the flowers… The one that nobody but Oliver and Walter seemed to know." Her brow furrowed. "See, I kind of get why you'd know Walter. I mean, he's your boss. Even if bringing flowers seemed a little familiar for a tech girl he probably didn't see very often…" Her eyes narrowed speculatively. "But what I'm really interested in is just how you know _Oliver_. Because as far as _I _knew, the IT Department wasn't a place he spent a lot of his time in…"

Felicity could hear the questions going unasked, the not so veiled suggestion that 'friendship' couldn't be all Oliver had with her. And of course, it made sense, from Thea's point of view. What would Oliver want with an IT girl? With his history with women, it probably seemed out of character for him to be 'slumming' it with her? But then, the island _did_ scramble his brain a little…

"More than a little."

Felicity winced. "I said that out loud?"

"You mumbled it." She shrugged. "And hey, look, I wouldn't call it _slumming_. I mean, I think if mom didn't have so much on her plate, like currently being imprisoned for attempting to mass-murder a whole section of the city, she'd actually be relieved to find out he was spending some extracurricular time with somebody with a little substance." She turned on her heel and started walking around the office, taking in the view out the window and checking the diplomas on the wall. "No offense to Laurel; she's definitely been the only girlfriend _I _could ever stand, but, let's face it, after everything with Oliver and Tommy, and Tommy dying now…" She shook her head. "I think it's safe to say that ship sailed and sunk… if you'll excuse the dark humor there."

Felicity's brows hiked.

Thea crossed her arms loosely over her stomach, her expensive bag bumping her hip as she turned back to Felicity's desk, taking in the few knick-knacks she kept and the lack of personal photographs anywhere. "I mean, if we're going to pick sides and start rooting, I probably would've hoped for big brother to land the girl, but I know when to wave a white flag… And hey, if there's a new player on the board, maybe those allegiances should change direction anyway, you know?" She raised her chin to stare at Felicity with a faint, crooked smile.

Felicity reached up to readjust her glasses and licked her lips in an effort to hide her smile. "You're good," she told her. "You put me at ease, you didn't ask a lot of questions, you tried to make it sound like you were on my side, and you even played the sympathy card…" She nodded, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "It's smart. You probably learned it growing up, trying to find out gossip, or maybe you saw your parents doing it, testing the waters with business associates to find out their next step…

"Personally, I probably couldn't do it. I mean, I tend to lose track of my thoughts too quickly, so I'd start out trying to get information about you, and I'd end up telling you more about myself than anything. Like I'd go on a whole rambling tangent about the latest season of Game of Thrones or my childhood dog that I used to think died prematurely because I cheated on my psych test my freshman year." She shook her head. "I was never good at reading people, getting into their heads. I preferred hard evidence, you know? Instead of trying to break down a person's motivations. I mean… I think I got better at it later, but in high school, _no, _no way. I was the _worst _at social situations. In fact, I still am, I get rambly, but you should've seen me in high school; I was _terrible_. I could tell you a few stories—"

"I think you're painting a really vivid picture as it is, thanks."

Felicity folded her lips. "Sorry. I get worse when I'm nervous."

"Hey, no need for nervous, right? We're just a couple of people, who happen to have a mutual love for Oliver, trying to have a conversation…" She turned then and plopped down in a chair across from the desk, crossing her legs in an effortlessly feminine way, and smiling. "_So_, let's talk, Felicity."

She frowned. "I think it's pretty obvious that I don't have any problem talking, just controlling where the conversation goes."

"Okay, so do we want to do this point-blank question style?" Thea tipped her head, her long hair spilling down one shoulder. "You seem like you like the up-front, show your cards style, right?"

Felicity blinked a few times, considering her options, and finally took a seat back in her chair, smoothing her hands down her skirt as she nodded at the girl across from her. Much as Felicity was obviously the older of the two, there was a distinct air about Thea that made it clear she was the one currently in control. Thea was beautiful, yes, but more than that she was smart, confident, and driven. It was obvious that when she wanted something, she got it.

She nodded. "Okay, ask away."

"How do you know my brother?" Thea asked, straight-forward.

"I work for him," she said honestly. "He came to me with a broken laptop that he said he spilled coffee on…" She shrugged. "After that, he just seemed to need a lot of tech help. Probably something to do with losing five years… We're in a tech age and it can be hard to keep up. A lot happens, and quickly, you know?"

Thea glanced away. "Yeah, five years is a long time… It's not just the technology that changes."

"_Oh_, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean that there weren't other, way more important, things that happened. I just… I mean, you asked me how we knew each other and I just…" She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "This is why I failed psychology."

Thea's lips twitched. "Despite cheating on the test?"

"Well…" She shifted, readjusting her glasses. "I kind of felt bad for that and turned myself in. I had to take a zero on the test, which was a pretty important chunk of my grade, but my conscience was clear, so…"

Her lips spread into a full smile. "Seriously?"

Felicity grimaced. She was used to that judgemental, 'you're not normal' voice; she'd heard it since she was a kid with a much higher IQ than the others and no understanding that playing outside was supposed to be a highlight, not a punishment. Felicity preferred books to people, especially as a kid, and that always made her an outcast. It wasn't until college that she decided not to care about what other people thought and just be happy with who she was. She'd been proudly wearing bold colors ever since, putting herself out there for the world to see instead of shrinking into the background lest she not fit the mold, and she never regretted it.

But now she was suddenly feeling like that awkward nerd that always embarrassed herself when she opened her mouth, and it was all because a seventeen year old girl was amused that she fessed up to cheating on a test. How would Thea react to the news that, while Felicity's conscience had foiled her grades in high school, it wasn't stopping her from joining ranks with an occasionally murdery vigilante? Probably not well. Despite the interrogation-like situation she was in, however, Felicity didn't plan on spilling those particular beans.

"It was the right thing to do," she finally said, finding her voice infinitely smaller.

"Oh." Thea sat up a little straighter. "Oh, I wasn't, like, _judging _you or anything. I mean, yeah, if that's what you had to do, do it. I just… I don't know. I guess it's a little 'heart of gold' for me." She tipped her head. "You're not really what I was expecting…"

Felicity's brow wrinkled. "What were you expecting?"

"With my brother's taste in women?" she laughed. "Uh, a subscription to the gossip rags, at least…" She glanced over at the corner of Felicity's desk, where a small stack of tech-based magazines were sitting. "The usual hangers-on like their cheap publicity, especially with grainy candids of them on Oliver's arm, making their debut into high society with a dress that doesn't cover a whole lot."

"That… I…" She shook her head. "Uh, that's not really my style… The reading material or the fashion choices. I'm more of a J.K. Rowling and Wired magazine reader, and a pencil skirt and breathable blouse kind of girl."

"I see that." She grinned. "I'm liking the bright colors."

Looking down at herself, Felicity smiled at her outfit; the same one she'd been wearing when she met Oliver for the first time, oddly enough. Her good mood was short-lived, however.

"So how long have you been sleeping with my brother?"

Felicity choked on air. Okay, that maybe that was a little more point-blank than she was expecting. She had thought there would be lead up, an innuendo that Felicity might side-step or completely and blatantly ignore. But just to have it out there like that… She didn't even know how to respond to it.

"I think this is the right time to interrupt," an amused voice interrupted.

Hand on her throat, trying to control the embarrassing coughing noises she was making, Felicity looked up to see Oliver standing in the doorway. Right, because this moment couldn't be _any _more embarrassing.

"Ollie," Thea said shortly, only looking slightly surprised by his arrival.

"Nice to see you too, Speedy," he greeted, tipping his head. "Any specific reason you're here?"

"I can't take an interest in your love life?" she asked, smirking as she leaned back in her chair.

Felicity's gaze bounced back and forth between them, waiting for Oliver to drop the 'we're just friends' or 'it's not like that' truth bomb.

"I'd prefer if you didn't," he replied instead, before stepping inside the office. He held up a brown bag of Belly Burger take-out. "I brought lunch. I tried calling, but my last three tries went to voicemail, so I just got your usual."

Frowning, Felicity glanced at her phone, but realized she probably wouldn't have heard it if she was immersed in her work.

"You know her _usual_?" Thea said, her voice both teasing and curious.

He cast a look at her of exasperated amusement. "Isn't there anything else you should be doing besides interrogating Felicity at work?"

She shrugged. "Not really." Leaning forward, she eyed the bag. "Spare some fries?"

"How about I spare my driver and have you driven home? I'm sure if you ask nicely, Raisa will make you fries there."

Rolling her eyes, she sat back in her chair and raised an eyebrow. "What? Afraid she might spill the big secret?"

He stilled, his lips thinned in a line. Placing the bag of food on the desk, he asked, "And what big secret is that?"

"Look, it wasn't that hard to figure out… Two and two, right?"

A wrinkle formed between his brows and his eyes turned up thoughtfully, but he didn't show his hand. "Well then why don't you show your work for the rest of the class?"

Blowing out a sigh, she shrugged. "You haven't been out with anybody in _months_, not even the usual hangers-on for the paps. You and Laurel are _obviously _over. The only people I ever see you spend time with is your bodyguard and _her_—" She motioned to Felicity. "And no offense to tall, dark and buff, but I think Felicity here is more your speed."

Oliver blinked at her.

"So I did a little research… or I paid someone to, but not the point. What _is _is that you two spend an awful lot of time talking and texting each other; the phone bills speak the truth, all right? And the staff at Verdant actually know her by name; I flashed a picture around and they said she's always around, which means she's hanging at the club that you spend, _oh_, ninety percent of your time at, pretty frequently. And let's not forget all the touching… I mean, seriously, you two might think you're being subtle, but I saw her at the fundraiser last week... You were looking for every opportunity to touch her." She turned to Felicity. "The strapless dress was a nice touch, by the way; plenty of bare skin while still walking the modesty line."

Felicity shook her head. "That… I… It isn't like…" She glanced at Oliver, but he wasn't looking at her. "We're _friends_. We— I mean, he was probably having problems with his data plan or something. I… I'm his go-to girl for geek speak, not his weekly flavor." She winced. "Not that I think he disrespects women, because I don't. I mean, I think it's totally okay to have a healthy sex life, and monogamy isn't for everyone, and that's fine. I mean as long as you're safe and you don't call out the wrong name, everything should be fine. How awkward would that be? I mean, I doubt that's ever happened to you, you're Oliver Queen, everybody knows your name. Women who aren't even sleeping with you probably call out your name in bed." She winced. "This is the rambly thing I was talking about earlier. Can someone interrupt me, please? Just cut me off at the knees and bury me somewhere, because I'm probably going to die of embarrassment any second now—"

"Felicity," Oliver said calmly.

"Shutting up," she said, nodding before she folded her lips closed.

Thea was thoroughly amused. "I guess it's a good thing he's the strong and silent type lately, or he'd never get a word in edgewise."

Felicity nodded. "I've definitely thought that before."

"He used to be much better. Dad used to say he'd talk just to hear his own voice."

Felicity chuckled, muffling it when Oliver sighed, shaking his head a little, though his lips were turned up slightly with helpless amusement. It was nice to see him in this environment, relaxed and playful because of Thea. Briefly, she wondered if it was all genuine. If maybe he really couldn't help but be lighthearted around his sister. But Oliver was a king of deception and truthfully, if it were all a lie, she wasn't sure she'd be able to spot it. She hoped not, though. He deserved that in his life, and it was obvious that Thea wanted that for him. She wanted him to be happy, to find someone he could love. She'd believed that was Laurel once, but… apparently now she thought it could be Felicity. She'd be lying if that didn't flatter her to an insane degree.

Sadly, though, that wasn't the case. So how was she supposed to explain her sudden and inexplicable friendship with Oliver? Oliver who apparently decided to drop by and bring her lunch today. Who had been bringing her favorite coffee by her office in the morning and checking in with her in person. Who gave her a shoulder massage three nights ago because she looked tense; and good God were his hands magic! Now that she thought about it, he'd been extra attentive lately…

But it wasn't like Thea thought. It was a balance of business and friendship. He'd asked her to come to the fundraiser last week because he thought he might need her tech skills on a phone he was planning to snag off a corrupt senator. A phone she never got her hands on, sadly; apparently the senator had slunk out early and Oliver hadn't been able to pickpocket him for it. Though, she did spend much of the night talking with Oliver; she even danced with him a few times. And the hors d'oeuvres were awesome; she'd never had so many tiny cucumber sandwiches in her life. So it wasn't a _total_ bust. Ever without the food or conversation, she wasn't sure anybody would call spending any amount of time in Oliver's arms, pressed up against his body, a loss. Plus, she got a dress out of the deal. It was an emerald green that shimmered when she moved but looked as smooth as water when she was still. She loved it so much she didn't take it off after she got home; she watched two episodes of Community and ate leftover Chinese in that dress, occasionally moving just to watch it shine.

"Felicity?"

"Hm? What?" She looked up, her brow furrowed as she looked between the siblings, standing side by side and staring at her. "What did I miss?"

"Thea's heading home and promises she won't blindside you with an interrogation again."

"Not one he'll interrupt, anyway," Thea said, smiling lightly.

Oliver shook his head faintly before turning a faint smile on Felicity. "And you and I are having lunch."

"Right. Okay." She held up a finger. "Just one minute then… I just need to finish something up and then—"

He reached across her desk and stopped her as she was turning, his hand falling atop hers on the desk. "I know you. As soon as you sink your head into the computer, I won't get you out of there for at least an hour." He rattled the bag. "Lunch first? Please."

She stared up at his earnest expression, momentarily caught up in the blue of his intense eyes. Swallowing tightly, she felt the weight of his hand on hers so completely that her heart skipped a beat. "Yes, sure, uh, _lunch_." She raised her other hand and, in the dorkiest move of her life, shot a finger-gun at him, with the added effect of a wink.

Thea's giggle drew her attention then and Felicity turned her head, suddenly remembering that his sister was still there, and watching the whole thing.

"Okay, I get it now. This isn't an in-progress, behind-the-scenes, keep it on the down-lo relationship, is it…? It's a slow-burn, friends become lovers kind of thing… All right, I can work with that." She winked at them before turning on her heel to make her exit, waving a hand over her shoulder. "Have a nice lunch! I'm sure I'll see you around soon, Felicity."

"Uh, yeah, you too," Felicity called back awkwardly, her brow furrowed.

Oliver finally moved over to close the door before rejoining her, taking the seat Thea no longer occupied and dragging it closer to the desk. "Hungry?" he asked, grabbing the take-out bag, completely dismissing what had just transpired.

Felicity blinked at him. "So we're not going to talk about how your sister, who's a whirlwind all her own, just dropped by my office and grilled me on the nature of our relationship?"

Calmly, he took out their burgers and fries and slid her drink over to her before taking out the napkin, ketchup, and salt and pepper packets. "What's there to talk about? She was bored, curious, she asked a few questions, and that's that." He shrugged.

Felicity unfolded the wrapper of her burger before overturning her fries to join it. Grabbing up three, she chewed on them absently. "That's _that?_ She thought we were having some- some _clandestine _affair!"

His lips turned up at the corners, amused, before he covered it with taking a bite of his burger.

"You don't think that might become a problem?" Her brows hiked. "Your sister thinks we're working up to something more. When you weren't here, she sounded _really _invested in you finding someone." She shrugged her shoulders high. "There's a pretty good chance she's going to be paying a lot more attention to us, which, I hope you remember, is not a good thing when you're…" She paused before whisper-shouting, "_conducting super-secret vigilante business on the side!_"

Licking the ketchup and mustard off his lips as he finished chewing, Oliver merely cocked his head. "So we give her what she wants and she stops caring." He shrugged. "She's just distracting herself with pet projects right now. My love life happens to be one."

Felicity nodded, scooping up a few more fries. "Right, so we just need to make sure you're seen with more women…" She bit her lip. "That'll be fine. I'm sure they'll flock to you. Even if you weren't, well, _you_, you have a _club_… So we just have to make sure that you start making the rounds in the gossip magazines again, attached to a pretty face, and she'll realize you're a lost cause and find something else to tinker with. _Great_. It's a plan!"

She hid her frown in her burger. Felicity was well aware that she liked Oliver, but she didn't lie to herself about who he was or who he could be. If it wasn't for the vigilante business and needing her tech skills, Oliver wouldn't spend as much time as he did with her. Not because she wasn't pretty enough, she happened to think she was perfectly attractive, but he was, well, _Oliver Queen_, and she was nobody in comparison. And perfectly attractive wasn't a waify model, which, aside from Laurel, seemed to be his usual taste in women. So at no point was she dreaming of becoming Mrs. Felicity Queen or drawing their names in hearts; she was firmly planted in reality. Well, with the exception of a few fantasies of the strictly sexual variety, but who could blame her?

She realized suddenly that she must've been thinking longer than expected, because Oliver was balling up his burger wrapper and tossing it toward her garbage can. It was no surprise when it landed inside easily.

"There's an art museum opening next week. I've been invited to help get exposure," he told her, taking a long sip of his soda.

She nodded, pushing her glasses up the slope of her nose. "That's perfect. Find someone beautiful, show up with that usual Queen flare, make sure the paparazzi get a few good pictures, and Thea's sure to see it." She clapped her hands, feigning excitement.

"It starts at 7, I'll pick you up at 6:30." He stood from his chair, took another drink of his soda and wiped his mouth and chin with a napkin. "We'll leave the gadgets and comm. links at home for the night."

Felicity blinked, confused, as he stood, waiting for her to process, smiling faintly.

"Wait…" She shook her head. "I thought…"

"Thea thinks I should date, and she's not wrong… Laurel and I are over and I've accepted that." He nodded. "But I don't want to pick just any pretty face from the crowd… I _like_ you, Felicity." His brow furrowed slightly as he said, "You make me laugh," in a way that sounded like he was still a little surprised by that revelation. "So… Next Friday, 6:30, I'd like to take you on a date."

Slowly, she dropped her burger down to the wrapper spread on her desk and opened her mouth, once, twice, before finally saying, "Yes, yeah, sure."

He grinned then. "Great." He dropped his eyes for a moment before finally leaning forward.

Her breath caught, the scent of him suddenly clouding her sense. He reached toward her, her hands gripping the edge of her desk, and she wondered if she was going to have burger breath for their first kiss. But then she felt his thumb at the corner of her lips. "Ketchup," he said, before wiping it away.

She felt her skin flare up in a blush, but he only smiled to himself.

"I'll see you tonight?"

Her brow furrowed. "Tonight?"

He waited.

_Right_. The foundry! She rolled eyes at herself. "Tonight, of course. Uh, I'll be there."

He nodded shortly and turned to walk to the door, but paused as he opened it. "Make sure you finish your lunch. You spend more than enough time working. You deserve a break."

"Well, I have a date next week, so hopefully that's the break I'm looking for," she returned, staring up at him, her chin lifted with renewed confidence.

His lips curled up. "Me too."

She grinned back at him, her heart fluttering in her chest as she watched him walk away. Letting out a heavy, happy sigh, she slumped back in her chair and shook her head. She buried her face in her hands, if only to muffle the laugh that was bubbling out of her. When Thea had first shown up, she thought she'd have to hype up her and Oliver's friendship in order to keep her from being suspicious, not convince her that they weren't romantically linked. She had no idea that it would lead where it had, but she couldn't really say she regretted it.

Maybe this one time, the IT girl got the guy. The occasionally murdery vigilante billionaire, yes, but who _didn't _have baggage these days? She liked Oliver, he liked her, and this just upped the chances of those sexual fantasies she had of him actually coming true.

Sure, there were reasons to pause; they worked together, she wasn't completely sure he was totally over Laurel, he spent five years on an island being mentally and physically tortured… Probably not the kind of things they could really get into detail over on their date, but they had time. The point was, they were going on a date. And there would hopefully be a second. Doors would open up and, with any luck, so would Oliver. She was willing to take a leap of faith and see if the trust between them, the constant accidental innuendos she made, and the very strong desire to strip off more than just his shirt (with her teeth), actually paid off.

Not to mention that having Thea's vote of approval could only make the chances of her and Oliver becoming more than just a pile of labels with an unlikely romance all the more possible.

And, as it turned out, her ones and zeroes were coded just right for his green bow and arrows.

[**End**.]


End file.
